A triumph ... There is so much pleasure to be had in rereading old favorites — and part of the joy is meeting beloved characters, who have been updated or somehow arrive in a new form to resist old tropes and types. Guo’s recasting of Ishmaelle is no exception.
Tightly plotted ... I think I won’t be alone in finding the book disappointing as a response to Moby-Dick. Still, it is surprising and often beautiful, and I came to love Ishmaelle’s odd, thoughtful voice.
Guo has chosen not to imitate Melville’s multi- layered writing, and for the most part Ishmaelle’s voice is down-to-earth, and sometimes oddly flat. She is telling a story, but doing so without the exhilarating, if sometimes baffling, circumlocutions that make Ishmael’s voice so distinctive ... Guo gives renewed forms of life to Melville’s immense novel, but the transformation is not without cost. What emerges from her version of the story is adapted to the expectations of a very different, more prescriptive literary culture ... Guo’s novel doesn’t bear comparison with its celebrated inspiration in every particular, but this is not the point. Ishmaelle has her own story to tell, and a changing audience will want to listen.
Comes off as more of a YA novel than a book aimed at adults ... Presents an alternative for high school students, and for adults, who no longer have the time or attention span to read a classic American novel.
Exciting ... Guo’s narrative style is full of energy and Call Me Ishmaelle deftly incorporates philosophical questions about our relationship with nature and gender-dysphoria into the plot, constantly tugging at the heartstrings.
Thrilling ... Guo’s reinvention of Melville’s text has significant political intent as well as playful artfulness. Necessarily, Melville’s multi-faceted style — from blank verse to excessive nautical terminology — is dispensed with to create a fresh and unadorned work ... A transformative writer.
Thrilling, innovative, and revolutionary ... Balancing sentimentality with adventure, Call Me Ishmaelle speaks to those who long to feel at home in themselves.
